Over 1,000 members of the USW – our partner union in Workers Uniting, have been locked out by Cooper Tire in Findlay, Ohio. In the increasingly bitter dispute the USW are taking legal action against Cooper Tire for unfair labour practices and imposing a lockout.

USW members were locked out when the company demanded that workers ratified a new contract without the full details of an incentive plan been agreed that could possibly result in major wage cuts.

Cooper have insisted that its proposal would have to be accepted, ratified and implemented before necessary studies would be finalised.

That meant workers would vote on a proposal not knowing if their wages were increasing or decreasing.

Cooper is now a profitable company. They have hired a scab workforce to run the Findlay plant.

Unite represents workers at Cooper Tires in the UK and our members have sent messages of support and solidarity to locked out workers in Ohio.

Unite members and branches should please send messages of support and solidarity to our USW-Workers Uniting brothers and sisters via Adam Lee at the USW – email alee@usw.org. You can also show your support by signing the petition on the new website, and sharing the campaign through social media.

Please take a few seconds to send messages of support to our brothers and sisters in the USW and Workers Uniting through this new website.

Unite will be placing advertisments in local newspapers in Ohio supporting the United Steelworkers and over 1,000 of their members locked out by the global corporation Cooper Tire this weekend to coincide with demonstrations in the area. Below is a PDF advert which is appearing in the local press in Ohio explaining the dispute.